Sunday, August 24, 2008

We've been all though the U.S., mostly on road trips through national parks, vast deserts, along Route 66, in sequoia forests, deep gorges, across wild rivers, and in parts in-between. This is a beautiful and amazing country full of ecological treasures. To diminish any of it is to lower our quality of life here.

At the same time, we must come to terms with our gross and ruinous reliance on oil--particularly foreign oil--as the fuel that keeps us moving. America must reduce, if not eliminate, this reliance. We have joined other proponents of the PickensPlan in urging the increase of wind power as a source of energy. It's clean, it's environmentally friendly, and it doesn't require despoiling anything to get it.

You can be cynical and protest that T. Boone Pickens, the plan's chief architect, stands to profit financially from any increase in wind power, and that his main motivation is the bottom line in his own fortune. Personally, we would rather hand our fuel dollar over to another American than to some hostile petro-billionaire who despises us. You can also dismiss wind power as a micro-solution that won't replace anything. We would argue that the long journey to fuel independence must start somewhere, however modest.

Check out the PickensPlan. Better yet, join. Since American leaders can only suggest offshore drilling as the answer to the current fuel crisis--oh, right, let's not change anything about what we use, let's just change where we can get more of it--take matters into your own hands and join a movement.